Alan Shearer has asked Obafemi Martins to help Newcastle United avoid relegation by playing through the pain barrier.

The Nigeria striker has been nursing groin trouble since December, with a hernia operation in January failing to correct a problem which caused Martins to make an 11am withdrawal from Newcastle's team before last Saturday's late kick-off and draw at Stoke.

After a groin scan on Tyneside this week highlighted an area of concern, the former Internazionale forward flew to Milan with a member of Newcastle's medical staff yesterday to seek a second opinion from a trusted Italian specialist.

Shearer, though, is hoping the injury can be managed between now and May and that Martins will tell him he is prepared to play in severe discomfort as Newcastle strive to preserve their Premier League status.

"We have a few different scenarios for Oba," Shearer said yesterday. "One, an operation, two an injection, three rest, four play through the pain barrier."

Newcastle's manager is trusting Martins will agree to opt for the fourth option. "We know obviously what we want him to do, it is just a case of how much pain that will cause him," said Shearer. "The favoured option is to try and play through the pain barrier and see where we get to at the end of the season. An op would rule Oba out for the season, rest and we'd lose him for two or three weeks and it would be the same with an injection."

In any case Shearer is not entirely convinced another operation will be necessary for the 24-year-old. "We're not 100 per cent certain he'll need one in the summer," he said. "The rest could make it better, the injections could too."

Having awoken in pain last Saturday morning Martins angered Shearer by not pulling out of the team to face Stoke until, effectively, the 11th hour but after private talks on Tuesday the pair have put the incident behind them.

"He knew I was disappointed with the timing of things," said Shearer. "But it's not an ongoing problem. In the position we're in we can't afford to have any problems like that, we have to keep everyone on side. Oba totally understood why I was disappointed but there are no problems between him and me. It's all forgotten about."

Hopes are, however, fading that Martins will be fit to start against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

"It is looking increasingly unlikely that Oba will be available for Spurs but we have not ruled him out yet," said Shearer. "We are not giving up hope on him yet."